Odisha govt stays jagannath yatra on SC orders

Bhubaneswar: Earlier this day, the Supreme Court ordered stay on the annual Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri and elsewhere in the state due to COVID-19 pandemic. The Odisha government said it would implement the orders of the top court to stay on the nine-day annual festival which is attended by lakhs of people was scheduled to start from June 23.

In meeting held with the state cabinet members along with the advocate general, the working chairperson and the chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, the development commissioner and law secretary, resolution was passed stating that the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee should carry out rituals inside the 12^th-century shrine in Puri and all district magistrates are directed to ensure proper implementation by religious committees and institutions conducting Rath Yatra every year, in accordance with the apex court’s direction.

A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices Dineesh Maheshwari and A S Bopanna on staying Rath Yatra said that this decision is taken in the interest of public health and safety of citizens as such a huge gathering can’t take place during the pandemic and Lord Jagganath won’t forgive if this is allowed.

The apex court’s order came on a PIL filed by an Odisha-based NGO seeking cancellation or postponement of this year’s Rath Yatra.